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Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry has passed away after a brief battle with cancer.

Holiday Fest 2015 Reviving a Fort Wayne Tradition

Fort Wayne's Holiday Fest kicks off Wednesday evening with its "Night of Lights ceremonies, and this year there's one "new-old" tradition joining the line-up.

The fine art of window decorating has been revived...in the form of a contest.

In the heyday of downtown shopping, window decorating was a retailer's best friend.

Nearly forty years ago Carol Spallone was a window dresser for Hutner's Paris, which was a high end retail clothing chain that had its flagship location on Calhoun Street.

"Window shopping was a big issue back then, and made people happy...Christmas sparkling lights in the windows...be part of the hustle and bustle, and holiday giving that was so prolifically displayed downtown," Spallone said.  

Spallone adds that the whole point was to dazzle, entertain, and sell the product.

The "product, in this case, is the contest's theme, "Yesteryear." And you are the judge.

Downtown Improvement District's Events Manager Megan Butler reports that 31 businesses and organizations are on board.

Coinciding with the annual Night of Lights this Wednesday evening, residents can begin casting their votes and view an album of all of the windows on Downtown Fort Wayne's Facebook page. Voting ends December 14th. The winner will be announced December 16th.

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